Topical Studies
Paul the Apostle
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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2 Corinthians 12:1-7 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
When II Corinthians 12:1-7 is thoroughly examined, it is obvious that the person who was taken up in a vision to the "third heaven" was the apostle Paul himself! In the eleventh chapter of II Corinthians, Paul explains his physical sufferings and persecutions. In chapter 12, however, he begins to relate some of his spiritual experiences. Notice that in the first seven verses, the pronoun "I" is mentioned fourteen times! In the very first verse, Paul says, ". . . I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord." This is clear from II Corinthians 12:7, where Paul said, "Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh." Paul begins to tell about his vision in verse 2 by saying, "I know ["know" is the correct translation, not "knew," which can be verified by checking the original Greek] a man in Christ about fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven." Paul is speaking about himself! He was "caught up to the third heaven"—in vision. This "third heaven" is where God's throne is. The vision was so vivid and realistic that he was unable—at the time—to tell whether he was taken bodily to heaven, or whether he was merely seeing it in his mind's eye. But God's Word provides the answer! "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven" (John 3:13). But why speak of seeing the third heaven by using the roundabout "I know a man"? Paul gives the answer in II Corinthians 12:6, "For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me." Paul simply did not want others to think of him as some great, exalted personage! By speaking indirectly ("I know a man") he emphasized this point.
Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986)
What Is the Reward of the Saved?
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2 Corinthians 12:12 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Paul is defending a challenge to his apostleship. What were the signs? They were things the Corinthians could see, the fruits of his ministry. The gospel of the Kingdom of God was preached to them, people were healed, demons cast out, people converted, congregations raised up, and apostles used to clarify doctrine under Christ (as in Acts 15).
John W. Ritenbaugh
Was Mr. Armstrong an Apostle?
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Galatians 1:1 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
This epistle was one of Paul's first letters, if not the first. As such, it was early on in his ministry, and one of the first topics in this letter was his credentials. This is seen in his parenthetical statement that he was an apostle appointed by God and Jesus Christ and NOT by men. The other apostles ate, walked, and lived with Christ while He was on the earth, and thus their credibility was established in part by proximity and association with Christ. Paul did not fall into this category, but rather persecuted the true Christians until his dramatic conversion. However, at that time, he was instructed by Christ personally and thus had a legitimate claim to apostleship.
David C. Grabbe
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Galatians 1:1-3 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
The bulk of this chapter is occupied with Paul's defense of his apostolic office. False teachers,the people who had access to the Galatian Christians' ears,were teaching them that what Paul had previously taught them had no authority from God because Paul did not meet the qualifications of being an apostle. These people could come up with all kinds of things. They might say, "Well, Paul never met Jesus": that he had not been an eyewitness to Jesus' preaching, that he had received no commission from God to be an apostle, and that he had not even been chosen like Matthias. Paul's calling, conversion, and commission were done apart from large numbers of people. Nobody had seen him trailing around after Jesus as they had seen the Twelve. He had not been eyewitness to the miracles that Jesus did. "He had not been taught directly by Jesus," was what they were saying. Thus, Paul spends the first chapter and more defending his position. Immediately, he states that his authority did not come through men. He confirms that he was an apostle, but his selection was not of men but by Jesus Christ. Right off he states his authority, and that it had come directly from God. By doing this, Paul puts himself in the same class as the Twelve, because even these false teachers were willing to concede that the Twelve's offices did not come through men either. Everybody knew that they were directly chosen by Christ. So Paul asserts, "So was I." He also speaks of his experience on the Damascus Road as his commission, and then he references the resurrection, further linking his commissioning to the risen and glorified Christ. All of this is contained within the first three verses. He had to establish his authority quickly, and this is how he chose to do it.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 24)
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Galatians 1:11 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
"I certify to you" translates into modern English as "let me make this clear." Then, just as he had denied their claim that his was an inadequate apostleship, he begins to deny their claim of an inadequate source of his gospel. He says it was "not after men," that is, it did not have its source in men. (The proliferation of manmade gospels is something that cannot be stopped. It seems as if God allows it to happen so that we will discern the true from the false.) There is a way we can tell the source of a gospel. A reasonably well-read person can compare Paul's gospel with gospels that come from men, and Paul's agrees with the rest of the Bible. Another thing is that gospels of men always elevate man at God's expense. Sometimes it is very subtle, but it can even be discerned right in the book of Galatians, once we understand that the people Paul is confronting were elevating themselves as worthy—because of their works—to be called of God. They were not empty of their human nature at all but filled with it! It came out in their proud boasts about how great their works were. Paul always denigrated himself in favor of God. God and Jesus Christ are always the great Ones, while all the rest of us are lowly servants. This is a major point to comprehend.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 24)
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Galatians 1:17 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Paul continues to illustrate that the foundation of his spiritual understanding was not instruction by the other apostles or by any other human being. He received his instruction and understanding directly from Jesus Christ.
David C. Grabbe
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Galatians 2:10 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Notice that the church leaders in Jerusalem felt there was nothing that they needed to correct in Paul's understanding or approach—there appears to be perfect unity and agreement in what was being taught. This is also touched upon in verse 6. At a later time (when Peter came to Antioch; verse 11), there was a dispute between Peter and Paul, and in one of Peter's epistles he observes that some of Paul's writings can be twisted by those who want to ignore God's law (II Peter 3:15-16; see also I John 3:4; Romans 6:23; 8:7 to see that disobedience to the law leads to the destruction that Peter is talking about. Compare Matthew 7:12-14; Philippians 3:17-19; I Timothy 6:9), but at this point, there is nothing that Peter, James, or John felt they needed to change about Paul's teaching.
David C. Grabbe
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Ephesians 3:7 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Paul would never have become an apostle if God had not done what He did. He made Paul an apostle. God converted Paul, an enemy of the church, and turned him into the hardest worker, probably, that the church has ever seen. He converted him, changed him.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Unity (Part 6): Ephesians 4 (C)
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1 John 1:1 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Who is "we" and "our" here? They are the apostles of Christ: Peter, James, John, Andrew, and even Paul, an apostle "born out of due time" (I Corinthians 15:8). Why would they be unimpeachable as sources? John tells us why: "We were with the Boss for three and a half years. We heard our Lord, Master, and Savior with our own ears, saw Him with our eyes, watched Him do miracles, saw Him walk on the water. We touched Him. We ate with Him. We slept by Him." It really makes a difference to have good sources, and eyewitnesses are among the best.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 20)
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